53 Hajj Pilgrims affected directly and thousands of others including their family and friends were affected indirectly due to a misfortune occurring with Hajj Pilgrims of Udaipur who got duped by the travel agent that eventually canceled the Hajj this year.

Hajj- The Biggest Annual Pilgrimage for Muslims, which will be taking place in the first week of November 2011 in Mecca, was looked forward to with high anticipation by a group of 53 Dawoodi Bohras of Udaipur, who had registered for the Hajj pilgrimage through the Bohra Youth Jamaat, Udaipur and were subsequently attached to an agent from Sidhpur, Gujarat.

Little did they know that their plans would be hijacked by an irresponsible travel agent and the surprising events that took place at the government level, when the Ministry of External Affairs announced changes to Visa regulations a month before the Hajj pilgrimage!

The agreement was made between the Bohra Youth Jamaat and the agent on March 6, 2011, wherein they paid 75% as advance to the agent – which was the first and last time they saw the agent.

It was in August 2011, that the pilgrims came to know about the issues with the agent and the allotment of visa quota – as told to us by one of the pilgrims. “We called the agent immediately and were in touch with him through telephone, as he was away in Jeddah, while his son was managing the affairs in India, as far as the trip was concerned”.

For a period of 60 odd days, the agent kept the pilgrims in the dark about the status of the visas and their travel itinerary. “All the time, we were told that the visa is in process and the paperwork will take some time. This had never happened before with any group and we were in a state of utter confusion – we were not sure whether we needed to prepare; a few of us needed to apply for leave from our respective office”, said one of the pilgrims who did not wish to be named.

“We were told on the 14^th of October, 2011 that the passports have been sent for stamping and the tentative travel date from India would be between the 27^th – 29^th of October”, he further said. This put the pilgrims at ease and the final preparations started.

It was at the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi on October 19^th, that the pilgrims were apprised of the actual situation – their agent’s representative had transferred the passports to another agent, and disappeared.

“We were told that it was nearly impossible to get visas as the quotas were exhausted and we needed to take back our passports”, one of the pilgrims said.

A part of the funds was reimbursed and the Hajj trip now stands cancelled.